Tourism GW3

What are the impacts of tourism?

Economic Impacts(Employment opportunity) Tourism industry forms part of the service sector of an economy Growth of tourism led to increase in the number of tourism-related jobs Tourism industries offers many employment opportunities which include workers in hotels,transportation,souvenir shops and tour agencies,travel agents,tour guides,hotel staff and waiters and waitresses Jobs can also be indirectly related to tourism,examples include taxi drivers and shop owners In 2011,the UNWTO estimated that the tourism industry employed over 235 million people worldwide

Economic impacts(Growth in income) Growth in tourism means growth in income for individuals and for a country For example,the fishermen on Pamilacan island in the Philippines.The local companies hired the fishermen to take international and domestic tourists on boat to look for and swim with whale sharks and dolphins.They are usually paid between US$80 to US$100 per boat for their services With a high demand for their service form tourists,the fishermen can expect additional income apart from their fishing livelihood Tour companies will also experience increase in revenue,hence overall increase in revenue for the country Tourism receipts from tourist spending also generates large revenues for many countries In 2011,worldwide tourism receipts exceeded US$1 trillion The revenue generated from tourism does not always remain in the country where tourists spend their money because tourism receipts is lost as a leakage,especially in LDCs Leakage occurs when revenue earned from tourism is paid to other countries for the imports of goods and services needed to meet the needs of tourists For example,travellers may fly to Phuket on a non-local airline,stay ina foreign-owned hotel etc Money spent by tourists will contribute to paying for these imported items Profits made by hotels,rental companies and fast food restaurants are then sen to another country Money spent by a tourist may not stay in the local economy and may bring few benefits to local business and workers

Economic impacts(Increase in foreign exchange) It is the money earned from other countries in exchange for goods and services Plays a big role in a country's economy Allows the receiving country to purchase goods and services from elsewhere in the world For example,tourism is Fiji's largest foreign exchange earner,which makes up between 20-25% of the country's economy Many countries that host large number of tourists receive considerable tourism business investments from other countries For example,Singapore plays host to many international hotel chains such as the InterContinental,Marriott and Shangri-La,which invest in building and furnishing hotels and resort,and training staff at tourist destinations These hotels operate in Singapore,they exchange their own currency to purchase Singapore dollars in order to make their investments This increases the demand for Singapore dollars and contributes to Singapore's capital flow Governments collect revenues directly from taxes on tourists and from income taxes on employees of tourism-related businesses Indirect sources of government revenues from tourism are taxes placed from goods and services which are supplied to tourists,which include manufactured goods such as petrol They are collected in the local currency,which increases the foreign exchange of the host country